Abby’s Acre

PROJECT TITLE: (YouTube channel name TBD — working titles include: The Fix-Up, Cabin Diaries, The Quiet Build, Abby’s Acre)*

Format: YouTube vlog series (longform gorilla marketing campaign) Genre: Horror (slow-burn / found footage / psychological) Objective: Stealth promotion for an upcoming horror film that recontextualizes the vlog series as found footage

PREMISE: A woman leaves the city to start over in a fixer-upper cabin deep in the woods. She starts a wholesome YouTube channel to document her solo renovation journey. The videos are cozy, relatable, and oddly soothing. But slowly, across episodes, tiny anomalies creep in. A shadow. A sound. A door she swears she closed. The audience starts noticing things before she does.

She remains rational, dismissive: "Just wind." "I'm overtired." "Probably a raccoon." But tension builds. Viewers begin obsessing. The comments grow frantic. The woman remains unconvinced... until one video abruptly ends in a moment that can’t be explained. No title, no closure.

A month later, the trailer drops. It’s a horror movie. The woman is the protagonist. And the channel? It was the beginning of the story. A real-time breadcrumb trail.

STRUCTURE:

  • Ep 1-3: Wholesome vibes, light humor. The woman explains why she left the city, gives a tour, starts basic repairs. Lo-fi indie score. Nature shots. Long takes. A calming voice.

  • Ep 4-6: Minor glitches. Objects shift. Audio picks up unexplainable sounds. Edits feel off. Comments start noticing.

  • Ep 7-10: Escalation. Dread builds. She starts seeing things. She gaslights herself. Tension peaks.

  • Ep 11: Abrupt end. No warning. No explanation.

  • Trailer Drop: Footage from the channel appears intercut with new, terrifying scenes. Now we know.

NARRATIVE PATH A: First-Person Descent

The film follows the woman’s point of view. We see her growing isolation, paranoia, and doubt. The vlog becomes her lifeline to normalcy as her surroundings—and possibly her mind—begin to unravel. The found footage is cut with moments from her private life: video drafts, phone recordings, self-filmed confessionals she never uploaded.

The trailer reintroduces her as a fully fleshed-out character. The YouTube videos were just one side of the story—now we’re invited deeper into her descent.

Impact: Intimate, immersive, and unsettling. The viewer feels emotionally tethered and betrayed.

VISUAL STYLE:

  • Natural lighting, handheld shots, soft LUTs

  • Minimal score, heavy ambient sound design

  • Black screen cold opens or whispered room tone transitions

  • Found footage rules: no perfect framing, awkward pauses, dropped audio

KEY THEMES:

  • Isolation vs connection

  • The illusion of safety

  • Trusting your gut vs trusting logic

  • Internet sleuthing and collective paranoia

EXTRAS:

  • Plant Reddit posts and TikTok clips from viewers "figuring it out"

  • Launch the trailer with an ARG-style drop

  • Collaborate with horror influencers to "discover" the lore

  • Leverage influencer marketing by working with YouTubers known for horror breakdowns or mystery commentary

  • Use anonymous Reddit accounts to post in horror and mystery forums, drop hints in YouTube comment sections, and respond to fan theories in-character

POTENTIAL TAGLINE FOR TRAILER: You saw the beginning. You just didn’t know it yet.

Client
Speculative campaign. Developed in-house as a proof of concept.

Year
July 2025

NARRATIVE PATH B: Post-Disappearance / External Discovery

The movie begins after the channel goes dark. Authorities—or an obsessed fan—begin piecing together what happened by analyzing the channel and the digital breadcrumbs left behind. It plays out like a true crime documentary or digital investigation.

The trailer reveals this angle, with narration from detectives or a journalist. Footage from the channel is reframed as evidence. Details in comments, reflections in glass, background noises—all take on new meaning.

Impact: Chilling, voyeuristic, and lore-rich. The audience becomes the investigator.